@ankle1969 That must have been traumatic for you to be in such a serious accident. I can imagine that it must have been hard to cope with the fact that that accident happened, and also for the close call and what it did to you. I was also injured in a car accident caused by someone else, not a serious as yours, but it was a chain reaction from behind collision that involved 6 cars when traffic suddenly stopped from going about 50 mph. I had a whip;ash that caused a spine problem 20 years later, and I needed surgery to fix it. I don't remember the name of the person who caused it, and I had forgiven them and moved on with my life which is a good thing. At the time, I was afraid to see a specialist and had an HMO insurance, so my primary care doctor just wrote down my symptoms over many weeks until I started improving.
I told myself I was going to be OK. I didn't have to face that fear until I needed spine surgery a few years ago, and I found my pathway through it.

Can you describe what the new ankle replacement solution is that you found at Duke?
It sounds like you've learned how to live with this for many years. Do you have a consult scheduled with a surgeon?